Being laid-off mid-career is definitely a defining moment, but you still need to live. That led me to the big deer hunt 2009. Unfortunately, the last deer I actually saw in the woods is hanging on my wall which was four years ago. Since then I haven't seen a deer in the woods. I believe the DNR is off base with its estimated deer population and presented an interesting 2009 hunt.
Since the DNR's major source of income comes from the gun-deer season (approximately $14.4M) it has no choice but to estimate high deer numbers. If the DNR actually said that the deer population is declining, why would anyone purchase a license to stand in the woods like a month old orange pumpkin? It may be that plenty of "hunters" are standing in the woods with rifles that haven't been fired in over a decade? It also may be that plenty of "hunters" are finding that right spot to sit, sleep, snore and wait for the sun to go down so they can get to the nearest bar?
Anyway you cut it hunting in Wisconsin is an experience and BIG dollars not just dollars to the state but also revenue to retailers and small businesses. Think about the hunter that purchases all the scent FREE products, purchases new equipment every year, or purchase clothing so they can "sleep" comfortably in the woods. Let's not forget all the restaurants and taverns that are sucking up all the dollars that hunters dole out to eat crappy bar food and drink their fill. Last but not least, there has to be an increase in toilet paper sold during this time with all that bar food that is consumed during the week plenty of hunters are reeling sheet after sheet!
As for my hunt, it was exciting as ever even though I didn't see any deer. If I actually want to see a deer, I'll just look out in the backyard!!
Until next time...
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
No Calls on Fridays!
Good evening all,
Today is Friday the 13th. A great deal of superstition comes along with this date if you believe it. To me it was a great day for learning. Fridays are a HORRIBLE day to make cold calls! Let me say that again...avoid making cold calls to potential clients on a Friday. Its even worse when you are trying to build up the brand of a small companies.
I suppose I knew this already, but it was easier to make these mistakes when I was receiving a weekly salary. With each call the theme was generally the same such as "I didn't receive the information regarding your services, can you please send me more and we can talk in a few weeks." These calls set me back a month for the prospects I phoned today. I would have been better off planning these calls for Monday. In one case, I believe that I heard the words "...send your information and call AFTER the holidays." I was stunned since that is two months out for that prospect.
I should be happy that they didn't hang up the phone, but it was discouraging knowing that I already had a day of time into each of these prospect from last week. For example, walking into one office I found that the reception area was full of customers. I simply asked the reception staff to hand my materials to the administrator and I would follow up at a later time. Either she didn't hear me or wanted me to wait with the masses in their overcrowded waiting room.
A long while later the Administrator comes out looking for someone who has an appointment with them only to find that its ME just dropping off information uninvited. At this point, I couldn't run and I felt like the reception staff just threw me under the bus. Needless to say, the encounter was brief as I didn't want to make mistake number 2 that sales people make all the time "show up and throw up". This happens to sales people who have the need to "throw up" their product knowledge or service knowledge without even asking the prospect their needs.
As this day winds to a close, I know that the calls made today set me back at least a month. The only good thing is that there are more prospects in the pipeline. I only need to stay away from FRIDAYS!
Until next time...
Today is Friday the 13th. A great deal of superstition comes along with this date if you believe it. To me it was a great day for learning. Fridays are a HORRIBLE day to make cold calls! Let me say that again...avoid making cold calls to potential clients on a Friday. Its even worse when you are trying to build up the brand of a small companies.
I suppose I knew this already, but it was easier to make these mistakes when I was receiving a weekly salary. With each call the theme was generally the same such as "I didn't receive the information regarding your services, can you please send me more and we can talk in a few weeks." These calls set me back a month for the prospects I phoned today. I would have been better off planning these calls for Monday. In one case, I believe that I heard the words "...send your information and call AFTER the holidays." I was stunned since that is two months out for that prospect.
I should be happy that they didn't hang up the phone, but it was discouraging knowing that I already had a day of time into each of these prospect from last week. For example, walking into one office I found that the reception area was full of customers. I simply asked the reception staff to hand my materials to the administrator and I would follow up at a later time. Either she didn't hear me or wanted me to wait with the masses in their overcrowded waiting room.
A long while later the Administrator comes out looking for someone who has an appointment with them only to find that its ME just dropping off information uninvited. At this point, I couldn't run and I felt like the reception staff just threw me under the bus. Needless to say, the encounter was brief as I didn't want to make mistake number 2 that sales people make all the time "show up and throw up". This happens to sales people who have the need to "throw up" their product knowledge or service knowledge without even asking the prospect their needs.
As this day winds to a close, I know that the calls made today set me back at least a month. The only good thing is that there are more prospects in the pipeline. I only need to stay away from FRIDAYS!
Until next time...
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Marketing Madness
Good afternoon all,
The big hunt is around the corner and I am still in the process of marketing McAllister Development Services. There is so much information on the web regarding internet marketing its hard to tell what is legitimate and what is bogus. The best advice I can lend is to pick up the phone and start calling some people in your network to ask questions.
I've started asking around from people I've connected with on LinkedIn that appear to be knowledgeable. It appears that there is money to be made promoting a website to make it a viral buzz. How does one capitalize on this to market a service not a product?
The consensus seems to be time and consistency will pay off in the end. Similar to going door to door marketing your service only there's no door and there's no instant rejection. Internet marketing is the ultimate of gathering leads from intelligent cold calling and pushing brand recognition.
Its a new day and one day I may catch up with this marketing madness!
Until next time...
The big hunt is around the corner and I am still in the process of marketing McAllister Development Services. There is so much information on the web regarding internet marketing its hard to tell what is legitimate and what is bogus. The best advice I can lend is to pick up the phone and start calling some people in your network to ask questions.
I've started asking around from people I've connected with on LinkedIn that appear to be knowledgeable. It appears that there is money to be made promoting a website to make it a viral buzz. How does one capitalize on this to market a service not a product?
The consensus seems to be time and consistency will pay off in the end. Similar to going door to door marketing your service only there's no door and there's no instant rejection. Internet marketing is the ultimate of gathering leads from intelligent cold calling and pushing brand recognition.
Its a new day and one day I may catch up with this marketing madness!
Until next time...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Getting Off the Ground
Good afternoon all,
All new beginnings start with an idea or in my case losing a job in the worse economy in almost a century. Beginnings don't have to start with pain. They can start with a plan. A plan provides direction and if done properly can provide measurements along the way to keep one on target to succeed.
No matter where we are in life, we need a plan. A simple plan to buy groceries to an elaborate estate retirement plan. One thing that most of us lack is a career plan. Most often each of us justify the jobs that we are in by quantifying the pay, the hours, or convenience. However, the few of us that actually plan out our careers have the greatest chance of achieving those goals.
There are not many CEO's out there that woke up one morning asking themselves how they got there. More than likely they made it happen with a plan that was written down. Therefore, I am now starting to write down my career goals with small steps to achieve the greater goal. I don't want to be CEO of some large conglomerate. I am looking for the freedom to use my professional experience to make healthcare professionals more efficient.
Step one was to partner with someone that shares my ideas, Steve McAllister and McAllister Development Services. Step two was to create a website to illustrate our services which can be viewed at www.developmentservices.us/projects/healthcare/healthcare.html. I don't need to bore you with my details. You need to get cracking on your own!
Until next time...
All new beginnings start with an idea or in my case losing a job in the worse economy in almost a century. Beginnings don't have to start with pain. They can start with a plan. A plan provides direction and if done properly can provide measurements along the way to keep one on target to succeed.
No matter where we are in life, we need a plan. A simple plan to buy groceries to an elaborate estate retirement plan. One thing that most of us lack is a career plan. Most often each of us justify the jobs that we are in by quantifying the pay, the hours, or convenience. However, the few of us that actually plan out our careers have the greatest chance of achieving those goals.
There are not many CEO's out there that woke up one morning asking themselves how they got there. More than likely they made it happen with a plan that was written down. Therefore, I am now starting to write down my career goals with small steps to achieve the greater goal. I don't want to be CEO of some large conglomerate. I am looking for the freedom to use my professional experience to make healthcare professionals more efficient.
Step one was to partner with someone that shares my ideas, Steve McAllister and McAllister Development Services. Step two was to create a website to illustrate our services which can be viewed at www.developmentservices.us/projects/healthcare/healthcare.html. I don't need to bore you with my details. You need to get cracking on your own!
Until next time...
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Pushing the Brand
Good morning all,
Have you ever came to a point in your life where you ask yourself "How did I get here?". Each morning we go through our morning routines. We shuffle kids to school, to day care, rush to the office or first appointment of the day, or hurry to make that morning meeting without taking the time to ask How did I get here. What is it with the American culture that continues to drive us to market ourselves as though we put our work before all other aspects of our life.
A classic example is the need to entertain clients all through the evening until the early morning hours only to boast that we will start again with a 7:00am meeting. Client relationships are important, but do we really need to sacrifice every aspect of our lives to achieve trust? Do we pride ourselves on our ability to lack sleep, drink a pot of coffee to stimulate us, and make important business decisions. We can achieve a successful career without the need to sacrifice LIFE.
When we are ready to depart the work force, no one will ask why didn't I work more. We are going to ask ourselves why didn't I take some time for myself and family. Therefore, start today by creating a plan to take control of your life. Ask yourself what am I going to do to balance my life. From there, write down steps to get your life into balance. Become focused at work to put first things first. Project completion through team building is a way to share the burden and accomplish goals. Also, team building is a great way to push yourself towards success. Working alone may be satisfying to some, but team building is a marketable skill that can accelerate your career.
There is no need to push your brand while sacrificing your life. Take the time and plan for success. You may find that in another decade you won't look back and wonder about all the things you didn't experience.
Until next time...
Have you ever came to a point in your life where you ask yourself "How did I get here?". Each morning we go through our morning routines. We shuffle kids to school, to day care, rush to the office or first appointment of the day, or hurry to make that morning meeting without taking the time to ask How did I get here. What is it with the American culture that continues to drive us to market ourselves as though we put our work before all other aspects of our life.
A classic example is the need to entertain clients all through the evening until the early morning hours only to boast that we will start again with a 7:00am meeting. Client relationships are important, but do we really need to sacrifice every aspect of our lives to achieve trust? Do we pride ourselves on our ability to lack sleep, drink a pot of coffee to stimulate us, and make important business decisions. We can achieve a successful career without the need to sacrifice LIFE.
When we are ready to depart the work force, no one will ask why didn't I work more. We are going to ask ourselves why didn't I take some time for myself and family. Therefore, start today by creating a plan to take control of your life. Ask yourself what am I going to do to balance my life. From there, write down steps to get your life into balance. Become focused at work to put first things first. Project completion through team building is a way to share the burden and accomplish goals. Also, team building is a great way to push yourself towards success. Working alone may be satisfying to some, but team building is a marketable skill that can accelerate your career.
There is no need to push your brand while sacrificing your life. Take the time and plan for success. You may find that in another decade you won't look back and wonder about all the things you didn't experience.
Until next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)